Every year, it seems, FIRST manages to increase the difficulty of their FRC challenge, each year's game slightly harder than the last's. This year, however, that increase was absolutely vast, as Team 1710 has had to explore completely new territories and break through previous boundaries to conjure a solution fit for this highly competitive game. This is Lunacy, a high speed, low-traction thriller sure to keep you on your toes.
The game is played on the "crater," which is covered in regolith, a material more commonly found on the Moon and intergalactic asteroids. This slick surface, in combination with the required plastic-coated rover wheels, will simulate the one-sixth strength gravity of the Moon. Needless to say, few robots will have enough traction to accelerate, turn, and stop like a sports car. Think more along the lines of an unwieldy pickup truck in the snow.
Like last year, the entire game will take a short 2 minutes and 15 seconds. For the first 15 seconds, robots will be in autonomous mode, during which they will perform with no human interaction. For the remaining 2 minutes of the match, drivers will be allowed to step up to their controls. Also, like last year, red and blue alliances, each made up of three teams, will compete for the highest score. However, unlike any other FIRST competition performance of the bots will be hampered by a payload trailer. The cumbersome trailers will be the fundamental necessity by which points will be achieved.
Nine-inch diameter orbit balls will be the game pieces of the competition. Different colors will set the various balls apart. Moon rocks (orange and purple) and empty fuel cells (blue and purple) will be worth just 2 points. Super fuel cells (green and purple) will be worth 15 points, but can only be obtained through the exchange of an empty cell, and can only be used during the last 15 seconds of the match. Points can be scored for each alliance by collecting balls in the opponents' trailers. Balls can either be deposited by the robot or shot in by a payload specialist from the fueling ports.
Lunacy has already challenged our team to think on a completely new level we had not previously explored. We are all very excited to see what the competition will be like and how other teams have solved the challenge for themselves.
